A man made of leaves blows away, traveling wherever the wind may take him. - (Baker & Taylor)

A man made of leaves blows away, traveling wherever the wind may take him, in a fresh, autumn tale with illustrations made from actual fall leaves and die-cut pages on every spread that reveal gorgeous landscape vistas. Jr Lib Guild. - (Baker & Taylor)

Ride the wind and drift east with Leaf Man in this autumnal classic by Caldecott Honor-wining author-illustrator Lois Ehlert, perfect for young readers returning to school in the fall.

Fall has come, the wind is gusting, and Leaf Man is on the move. Is he drifting east, over the marsh and ducks and geese? Or is he heading west, above the orchards, prairie meadows, and spotted cows?

No one's quite sure, but this much is certain: A Leaf Man's got to go where the wind blows.

Ehlert crafts each illustration out of actual fall leaves on every spread to reveal gorgeous landscapes. This playful and whimsical book celebrates the natural world and the rich imaginative life of children.

<div>Come along on a journey with a man made of leaves in this autumnal classic by Caldecott Honor&#8211;winning author-illustrator Lois Ehlert.</div> - (Houghton)

<div>Come along on a journey with a man made of leaves in this autumnal classic by Caldecott Honor&#8211;winning author-illustrator Lois Ehlert.<br><br> Fall has come, the wind is gusting, and Leaf Man is on the move. Is he drifting east, over the marsh and ducks and geese? Or is he heading west, above the orchards, prairie meadows, and spotted cows? No one&#39;s quite sure, but this much is certain: A Leaf Man&#39;s got to go where the wind blows. Ehlert crafts each illustration out of actual fall leaves and die-cut pages on every spread that reveal gorgeous landscapes. ThIs playful and whimsical book celebrates the natural world and the rich imaginative life of children. Includes facts on how to identify leaves out in the wild!</div> - (Houghton)

Booklist Reviews

/*Starred Review*/ PreS-Gr. 2. Ehlert's imaginative way with picture books in general and those of the natural world in particular continues with this eye-popping book that follows one bold maple leaf with acorn eyes as the wind blows it here and there. In a brief author's note, Ehlert describes how she picks up leaves wherever she goes. She uses them--gathered from oaks, hawthorns, elms, beeches, and more--to great affect here, cleverly shaping them into the many animals and objects the leaf flies over: chickens, fruits and vegetables and lakes, fish, and rivers. Hints of whimsy are cleverly incorporated in the figures (the tips of a maple leaf form a cow's udder), and scalloped edgings on the tops of the pages, cut at varying heights, artfully give the effect of setting the action against a three-dimensional landscape. There is no real story here, but the book can easily translate into a guessing game, as young eyes pick out the slightly camouflaged shapes. The bright colors and distinctive shapes will make it a pleasure for children to do just that. ((Reviewed June 1 & 15, 2005)) Copyright 2005 Booklist Reviews.

Horn Book Guide Reviews

Collages made from color photocopies of leaves, on pages die-cut to suggest layered hills, expertly deliver the delight and imaginative appeal of a crisp fall day. The unseen narrator's search for the wind-blown?"Leaf Man" entails more leaf creations, whole or skillfully cut to represent, for example, fruit on a tree or fish in a lake or river. Copyright 2006 Horn Book Guide Reviews.

Horn Book Magazine Reviews

Collages made from color photocopies of autumn leaves, on pages die-cut to suggest layered hills, expertly deliver the delight and imaginative appeal of a crisp fall day. "Leaf Man" -- deftly evoked by ten or so leaves arranged casually among their fellows -- "used to live near me, in a pile of leaves." He could be a child's construction or, like a cloud figure, simply a pattern to discover and name. Blowing away, he leaves "no travel plans...A Leaf Man's got to go where the wind blows." The unseen narrator's search for him entails more leaf creations -- birds, vegetables, mice -- all formed with identifiable leaves, whole or skillfully cut to represent, for example, fruit on a tree ("Is he drifting west, above the orchards?") or fish swimming in a lake or a river. Both craft and visualization are sure to inspire emulation; meanwhile, vocabularies will be enriched by the labels identifying leaf varieties on the endpapers. Beautiful, beautifully wrought, and a fine incentive to visual creativity. Copyright 2005 Horn Book Magazine Reviews.

Kirkus Reviews

Ehlert's vision and invention do not fail in this clever look at leaves in all their fall glory. "A Leaf Man's got to go where the wind blows" is the refrain, beginning with a recumbent figure made of leaves, with acorns for eyes and a sweet-gum mouth. Ehlert makes all of these marvelous pictures with color photocopies of leaves: the chickens, the fields of pumpkins and squash, the cows and the fish in the lakes that Leaf Man passes over. She further enhances the textured-and-painted-paper background by die-cut edges on the tops of most of the oversized double-paged spreads featuring scalloped rolling hills, pinked sheared meadows and curved rivers. Leaf Man makes his journey, ending in a tumble of leaves with potential for another figure. Beguiled young readers and listeners will be further entranced by the endpapers where Ehlert names the leaves (different on front and back) and the dust jacket where she identifies unknown leaves by place of origin. Excellent to read aloud and to look at many times over. (Picture book. 4-8) Copyright Kirkus 2005 Kirkus/BPI Communications. All rights reserved.

Publishers Weekly Reviews

Ehlert (Red Leaf, Yellow Leaf) returns to one of her favorite themes-the rainbow beauty of autumn leaves-for this refreshing riff on leaf peeping and collecting. A narrator recalls the Leaf Man that used to live nearby but recently blew away with the wind. "He left no travel plans." From that breezy beginning, the narrator imagines the different flight patterns the Leaf Man may have followed "past the chickens, toward the marsh,... over the prairie meadows,... past the spotted cows," and punctuates the lyrical text with an occasional refrain ( "a Leaf Man's got to go where the wind blows"). All the while, Ehlert sparks her foliage flight of fancy with her snazzy leaf collages. Fiery maple, brown mottled catalpa and bright yellow ginko leaves take the shape of various animals and objects on each spread. The boldly colored background papers, of varying texture, make the leaves pop. And, in the type of clever book design for which Ehlert is known, the pages are die-cut and/or patchworked at the top to create a rolling, flowing effect throughout. Endpapers serve as a labeled field guide to leaf varieties and an author's note expresses Ehlert's passion for her subject, and describes her art technique. After this visual feast, young nature lovers are sure to look with fresh eyes as they walk through the woods. Ages 4-8. (Sept.) Copyright 2005 Reed Business Information.

School Library Journal Reviews

PreS-Gr 3-Ehlert combines vivid collage artwork, effulgent colors, and an inventive design to create an eye-catching picture book. With a body made of fallen leaves and acorns for eyes, Leaf Man takes off from a backyard and flutters away on the breeze, meandering past animals, over fields of fall vegetables, above waterways, and across prairie meadows. The text suggests a range of possible destinations, along with the refrain, "Well, a Leaf Man's got to go where the wind blows." Finally, readers are encouraged to listen for "a rustle in the leaves" and maybe find a Leaf Man of their own to take home. From ducks to pumpkins to fish, all of the objects described are fashioned out of life-size leaves of various shapes, sizes, and hues and set against backgrounds of textured paper. The die-cut pages curve and bend across the top edge, suggesting undulating mountains set against a sky-blue backdrop. The various leaves and seeds are identified on the endpapers. While the story is simple, the artwork is dazzling, and the book's concept will inspire nature walks, art projects, and curiosity about the changing seasons.-Joy Fleishhacker , School Library Journal